Former Used Car Dealer Pleads Guilty for Cheating Customers

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A former used car dealer admits he sold cars with faked odometer readings, reported KY3 News. Ashley Bolton pleaded guilty in Greene County Circuit Court to two counts of using deceptive business practices. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 10, and he could face sentences of two to four years in prison, or one year in the county jail, for each count.

A KY3 News investigation of Bolton in 2012 started with complaints by many customers of his Excel Auto Group in Springfield that their used cars’ odometers were rolled back before they bought them. Bolton also operated B and B Motors.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office sued Bolton for civil penalties and restitution in 2012 after the KY3 News report. The office accused him of advertising, marketing and selling vehicles that the business claimed had lower mileages than they really did. The Attorney General’s Office obtained a judgment when Bolton didn’t contest the case. The order included a prohibition on him and Excel selling cars.

In early 2013, the Attorney General’s Office charged Bolton with two counts of using deceptive business practices. In an open plea, meaning he wasn’t offered a deal, Bolton pleaded guilty last Thursday before Greene County Circuit Judge Dan Conklin.

Several customers of Excel Auto Group sued Bolton and his company in small claims court in 2012 and 2013. They asked for compensation for the odometer rollbacks as well as help paying for defective parts that they didn’t know about when they bought the cars. They won judgments.

Excel Auto Group operated near Scenic Avenue at Walnut Lawn Street on the southwest side of Springfield.